Police forces

INTERVIEW: As he approaches the first-year anniversary of taking up the top job with Saskatoon Police Service, Chief Cameron McBride spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about his 28 years with the Service, the inward focus on wellness and support for officers, the importance of community engagement, and the social, technological and retention challenges facing modern policing.

ANALYSIS: When it comes to research and services for victims of adolescent domestic abuse (ADA), those aged under 16 are often overlooked by policies that focus on the adult domestic abuse (DA) agenda; Gloucestershire Deputy Chief Constable Katy Barrow-Grint and City St George’s, University of London Senior Researcher Dr Ruth Weir spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about new efforts to identify the scale and nature of the problem, and encouraging police forces to use technology to extract ADA data.

FEATURE: Last month saw joint calls from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Police and Counter-Terrorism Policing for UK policing to be given more freedom to share details around investigations that could help to quell the online misinformation fuelling violence and disorder; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the challenges around sharing of information, as well as the artificial intelligence tools that can help to tackle misinformation.

FEATURE: Earlier this year more than 40 academics and police practitioners gathered at Canterbury Christ Church University’s Centre for Policing Research (CCPR) to explore both the strategic importance of wellbeing and the practical steps being taken to support officers and staff in frontline and specialist roles, as Policing Insight’s Dr Carina O’Reilly reports.

OPINION: The US first declared its ‘war on terror’ in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and the impact of the approach was felt by policing in America and elsewhere; Liverpool John Moores University Policing Lecturer James Williams looks at the changing nature of US counter-terrorism since 9/11, the growing focus on domestic terrorism, and the increasing threat posed by online extremism and ‘lone wolf’ attacks.

INTERVIEW: Since taking up her post as Iceland’s National Police Commissioner five years ago, Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir has made significant strides in addressing gender inequality within the force, and in the service it provides; she spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the need to keep pushing for greater gender equality, the new approaches to responding to domestic violence, and why appointing senior leaders from outside of policing helps to change potentially damaging cultures.

FEATURE: The ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ programme to tackle serious and organised crime (SOC) – implemented across almost all territorial police forces in England and Wales – is successfully driving down acquisitive crime and promoting partnership approaches that are ending silo working, according to a new evaluation report, although challenges still remain in some areas around community perceptions and long-term resilience, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Investigative genetic genealogy is being used by police forces around the world to identify both the discovered remains of unknown individuals, and to track down those responsible for murders and other violent crimes; in this edited version of her Churchill Fellowship report, Dr Emma Tilley of the University of Staffordshire looks at the use of investigative genetic genealogy in police investigations around the world, the benefits and challenges it offers, and how can UK policing can implement this new technique.

FEATURE: A tri-agency response to those in mental health crisis involving members of the police, ambulance and clinical services has been further expanded across Tasmania after implementation of the approach in other parts of the state successfully reduced the need for individuals to be restrained or involuntarily detained in hospital, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: With illicit drug use increasing by 20% over the past decade, University of York Honorary Fellow and Associate Professor Ian Hamilton looks at the scale of the harm done by drugs around the world, the changing trends in supply and demand, and calls for a “complete shift” in the way governments and societies recognise and respond to what has become a global threat.

INNOVATION: The continuing development of digital and multi-channel public contact is a key issue for policing across England and Wales; in the third in the Policing Tech Forum series of webinars produced by PolicingTV, Ch Supt Tony Josephs, NPCC Digital Public Contact Programme Director, Tony Jackson, Head of Digital Futures at Merseyside Police, and Martin Taylor, Deputy CEO of Content Guru, explored opportunities to enhance the public experience through the My Police Portal and other technology, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The International Association of Women Police (IAWP) offers annual recognition for female and male officers in various categories. Submission can be made online using the electronic nomination form. Nominations close at midnight EST on February 28th so please hurry and make your nominations!

INTERVIEW: Just over two years after taking up her post as the first female officer to lead Tasmania Police, Commissioner Donna Adams spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the innovative changes to recruitment and retention, the dangers of “scope creep” across the service, and the need to learn from the past while looking to the future in order to build trust in the force.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports on what was discussed at a first-of-a-kind international symposium on boosting trust and confidence in policing, including new research on winning public support and the importance of listening to communities.

FEATURE: In the wake of a joint investigation into a super complaint over police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA), the Independent Office for Police Conduct has now published its review of the way forces in England and Wales handle such cases, with calls for improved training for frontline officers on the potentially complex nature of PPDA, the need for better recording and vetting, and greater consideration of the impartiality of investigations, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: During a 32-year career in policing, Chief Dale McFee of Edmonton Police Service has blended an entrepreneurial spirit with a commitment to innovation and reform, building a reputation as a successful “change leader”; as he prepares to retire later this year, he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend and reflected on his achievements, leadership philosophy, and the challenges facing modern policing.

OPINION: In the first in a new regular series of articles and opinion pieces from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell, Chair of the APCC, highlights the PCC-based initiatives underway across England and Wales to reduce crime and improve community safety, particularly focusing on crime prevention and partnership working, with new research published this week underlining the effectiveness of multi-agency, evidence-based collaboration.

ANALYSIS: Recent arrests and seizures suggest that drug traffickers are increasingly switching to chemically concealed cocaine (CCC) to move tonnes of shipments around the world, successfully passing through ports and airports undetected; in the first in a series of articles on CCC and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the background of this seismic shift in drug trafficking, the scale of the problem, and what steps law enforcement can take to meet some of the key challenges.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Merseyside Police is leading the fight against serious and organised crime, with the support of the Chorus Intelligence Suite (CIS). The cutting-edge digital investigation platform has been instrumental in enabling Merseyside Police to break down drug supply chains, protect vulnerable individuals, and secure vital convictions against high-profile offenders.

FEATURE: A new Police Foundation report into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in policing across England and Wales has called for improved data literacy – particularly at senior leadership levels – alongside national frameworks for digital technology delivery, data standardisation and the ethical use of AI, to ensure forces leverage maximum potential from the new tech while improving service to the public, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: With the terrorist threat level in Australia sitting at ‘probable’, former Australian Secretary of Home Affairs Michael Pezzullo warns that the current confusion over responsibility for counter-terrorism in the country is weakening security – particularly in relation to the anti-Semitic terror threat – and sets out 10 steps the government needs to take to address the problem.

INTERVIEW: Former New York Police Department Chief of Department Terry Monahan, who was a police officer in the city for 39 years, spoke to Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass about how a new neighbourhood policing model and a genuine approach to listening to the community led to record low levels of crime and homicide, and how a famous picture of him taking a knee with Black Lives Matters protesters came about.

INNOVATION: Avon and Somerset Police’s Dementia Safeguarding Scheme is using Bluetooth tags and GPS trackers to help those with dementia if they go missing – reducing the amount of police resources deployed on tracing vulnerable people and protecting loved ones – as scheme pioneer Inspector Stuart King told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A recent report published by Peel Police Service Board and drawn from a series of community consultations has highlighted a range of steps that the Service can take to address “systemic” challenges around governance, discrimination and racism, including better training on cultural sensitivities and bias, greater diversity within the Service, and improved recognition and reporting mechanisms for hate crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.